Macedonia gunships pound rebels

The gunships were sent into combat within a day of delivery

The Macedonian security forces have put helicopter gunships into action against ethnic Albanian rebels for the first time.

Two Ukrainian MI-24 helicopters delivered on Friday rocketed suspected rebel hideouts in the hills around Tetovo, Macedonia's second city.

It was not immediately clear exactly what they were targeting or whether anyone was wounded.

Government troops also intensified mortar bombardments of the rebel-controlled hills.

The late afternoon helicopter attacks came a few hours after the rebels sent two shells slamming into a neighborhood near a police checkpoint, injuring four people.

BBC correspondent Peter Biles says this was the first time the rebels have returned fire in a week.

No go area

Troops and armed police have also sealed off an area around the village of Gracani, the scene of previous clashes between ethnic Albanian rebels and Macedonian security forces north of the capital Skopje.

Gracani was reportedly seized by members of the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army on Wednesday.

Inhabitants from a nearby Albanian village said the rebels moved across the border from Kosovo into Gracani, which lies on the boundary between Macedonia and the United Nations administered province.

Tetovo offensive

There have been allegations that the guerrillas receive support from neighbouring Kosovo, but the province's three most influential political leaders made clear on Friday that they do not back the rebellion.

Heavy explosions and smoke rising from the hillside around Tetovo signified the intensification of shelling by government forces.

Civilians have been ordered to move

Army commanders have been given the authority to carry out an all-out offensive to wipe out the rebels, but this has yet to materialise.

Civilians have been warned to pack up and leave the areas at the heart of the conflict. Tensions have been high in Tetovo since a father and son were shot dead by Macedonian security forces on Thursday.

Macedonian officers say they fired on the two men to prevent a grenade attack.

The dead men's friends and family say they were innocent victims and that the supposed grenade was a mobile phone.

The guerrillas have threatened to escalate the conflict if the Macedonian authorities reject their offer of a truce and talks.

The international community is providing political and financial support to Macedonia in its fight against the guerillas, but is at the same time urging the restraint on both sides.